Proposal
by AlexaNDYE
Summary: Pepper returns from her week trip in Los Angeles, and Tony is nothing but happy and excited. POST-IRON MAN 3
1. Chapter 1

**Kind of fulfilling SherlockStarkGal47's request on Tumblr**

**Read and enjoy!**

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"Honey, I'm home." Pepper announced as she walked through elevator of the Stark Tower.

It had been a little over a month since the Mandarin's attack. She had been trying to clean up some messes, traveling back and forth from Los Angeles. Unfortunately, their Malibu home had been blown off the cliff, so she had to stay in her old apartment. It was something nice to retreat to since there were nothing but sweet memories of the place, but because of the Mandarin's attack, Tony has been keeping tabs on her thanks to SHIELD.

Nothing exciting happened. Pepper closed some deals on a couple contracts, cleaned up most of the mess caused by the Mandarin and her boyfriend, and even managed to grab a cupcake from Katie's Sweet Shop.

Pepper sat down on the couch in the center of their penthouse and began to slip her heels off. At the same time, Tony had poked his head out from an adjacent room. His eyes were full of curiosity and happiness. He hadn't seen her for almost a week. Even though he has called her numerous times throughout her trip, it just wasn't the same.

His lips formed a wide smile before he walked towards her.

"Hey, Pep." He casually said, trying not to show how much he's missed her.

Pepper turned her head to glance at him and flashed a grin. "Hi." She greeted. "How was your week?"

"It was interesting. Worked on the Mark 48 and upgraded JARVIS, but other than that—" He caved. "—it's been unhappily silent without you."

Tony came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, hovering above her head. Pepper took this as an opportunity and slowly tilted her head up. She smiled up at him, basking in his grease covered and metal scented filled presence. He widened his smile and began to brush the tip of his nose along hers.

It had been a very long week for her.

Pepper abruptly grabbed hold of his hand and tugged him forward, allowing him to capture her lips with his. He closed his eyes, and moaned in delight and surprise as her soft lips began to kiss back. He smiled against her lips, trying not to chuckle.

Something inside of him began to stir and click. Within a split second, the gauntlet of his Mark 47 sped towards him, causing Pepper to squeak and pull away.

The gauntlet didn't hurt her. It was the sudden whirring of mechanical parts that surprised her.

She stared down at the gauntlet in shock. Tony tried not to whimper at the sudden pull from their endearing kissing session, but nonetheless had to assess the sudden intrusion of the Extremis.

"Sorry about that." He smiled, looking down at the gauntlet. "I guess got a little too excited."

Pepper grinned devilishly, and sexily, up at him. "Interesting." She commented. Her red lipstick covered lips practically taunting him for another round. "Usually I can tell when you're _excited_."

Tony whimpered at her seductive words, and stared down at her with wide brown puppy dog eyes and a quivering frown. Without warning, a second gauntlet sped towards him, latching onto his other hand. He gasped at the sudden intrusion and heard a small laugh from Pepper.

"Wow." She smirked. "Someone's _really_ happy to see me."

He began to remove the gauntlets. "You have no—" He struggled with one of them. "—idea." He tossed them on the couch and leaned in for another kiss. "So, where were we?" He almost captured her lips, but at the last second, Pepper turned away.

"Not so fast, Mister." She noticed his hands protectively clasped over the necklace he gave her; the one with a ruby heart pendant.

"Aw," He began to whine. "That's teasing. That goes against the rules of the Stark Tower."

"The—the what?" She scrunched her nose up at him.

"The rules." He repeated. He removed his arms from around her shoulders, and off the necklace, and placed his hands on her shoulders. "JARVIS, would you be so kind as to recite the rules regarding Pepper and myself?"

"Tony—" She was about to chastise him, but JARVIS spoke up.

"First rule," JARVIS began. "Mr. Stark and Miss Potts are refrained from teasing each other."

"Unless….?" Tony spoke up. Pepper had her eyebrows furrowed. She didn't know if she should hit him or laugh it off.

"Unless Miss Potts agrees to the following proposal."

She blinked before letting out a loud audible sigh. "Do I even want to ask about the proposal?"

"You must agree to sex – six days a week – or seven if you prefer." Tony sexily smirked.

Yeah, she wanted to hit him.

Pepper tried not to laugh. "No." She said before getting up off the couch. Tony's hands fell to his side as he began to pout.

"What do you mean by 'no'?" He furrowed his eyebrows at her.

"JARVIS, erase all rules Mr. Stark has set as well as proposals, and whatever else pertains to it." She commanded.

"Wait—don't—" Tony tried to interject.

"Of course, Miss Potts." The AI responded. " 'Rules of Engagement Between Mr. Stark and His Girl' has been erased."

"Hey!" He barked, unsure of what just happened. "JARVIS, are you forgetting who built you in the first place?"

Pepper picked up her things and walked past him, towards the bedroom. "Six times a week?" Her eyebrows were furrowed.

Tony trailed behind her like a curious puppy. "It's actually a nice proposal."

She left her bag on their bed and made her way to the walk-in closet that seemed to be as big as the bedroom itself. She walked towards the very back where her shoes were mounted.

"I mean, we can either spend it all in one day, or…" He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, and began to pull her against his chest. He planted a light kiss on her neck, effectively making her squeak. "…we can spread them out."

Pepper tried not to laugh. "It's crazy how attached you are to me."

"I'm not attached." He denied. "I'm like a kid. When I see a new toy, I want to play with it and call it my favorite."

Her smile went flat. "Did you just compare me to a toy?" She deadpanned.

Tony looked up from her neck, as his nose was buried in her scent, and noticed from her tone that he was in dangerous territory. "No…?" He tried to recover.

She rolled her eyes at him and mounted her shoes. She turned around to search for a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. Tony noticed her hands grabbing casual nighttime clothing and grinned possessively. "Changing into clothing I can easily take off?"

She unbuttoned her blouse and smirked at his words. "I'm getting ready for bed, Tony."

He frowned. "But the night is young, Babe."

"It's almost 1 am."

"What—" He looked at the clock on their nightstand and raised his eyebrows. "Oh."

"Yeah." She smiled, changing into sweats. "You might want to take a shower."

"But, I still have stuff to do in my workshop." He pouted. "The Mark 48 needs a bit of a test run, not to mention a few more modifications, and I'm pretty sure some of the spare parts in the garage—"

"Well, Stark, you have two choices." Pepper threw her clothes in the hamper in their closet and walked past him. Tony licked his lips at the way her t-shirt completely and perfectly showed the curves of her body. "You can either go back to your workshop and work on your suit, or…" She climbed into bed. "…You can take a shower and climb into bed with me, and we'll work on that proposal of yours." She devilishly smiled at him; she loved working him up.

Tony's mouth went agape. He turned his head to look at the doorway and then turned to look at the bathroom.

"Your choice, Honey." Pepper grinned as she slipped her legs underneath the covers. "Oh," She spoke up again. "By the way, I'm not wearing any underwear."

Tony processed her words for a minute and began to nod. It was only a few seconds later before he took off and darted towards the bathroom.


	2. Chapter 2

You've convinced me to write another chapter! Happy Easter and Happy April Fools! :)

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Pepper woke up with a loud yawn and a small sigh. She sleepily looked around the room for a t-shirt, but was greeted with her and Tony's clothes strewn throughout the room, no doubt a result of their discussion about his proposal. She wrapped half of a bed sheet around her body and began to move about. She swung her legs off the bed and was about to stand up to go to the bathroom, but a strong arm wrapped around her middle and pulled her back onto the bed.

A muffled, "No" immediately followed after.

Pepper squealed as her back hit something hard.

"That better be your hip, Tony." She warned him with a grin.

He returned the smile and sleepily looked up at her. "Don't worry," he pulled her down to lay beside him. "It is." He dug his nose into her shoulder and happily hummed. "We definitely need to do that more often."

"Rip each other's clothes off and make a mess?"

"That and much more." He kissed her neck, taking in her wonderful sweet scent.

"Mm," Pepper hummed in delight. "Stop", she murmured.

"Make me." He kissed her neck again.

"Tony, I have to go to work." She sighed. His light kisses and gestures of affection along her stomach didn't help at all.

She heard him whimpering softly as he continued to kiss her shoulder. "But, you just got home from your incredibly long business trip."

She furrowed her eyebrows and shook her head. "A week isn't that long."

"It is to me, especially when it involves your notable absence." He told her sweetly. His grip around her middle tightened.

"Well _someone_ has to be in the office today." She snuggled her back against his chest, making him sigh in content.

"And that someone is definitely not going to be you." He told her.

"So, I take it you'll be there?" She nudged him.

Tony began to laugh. "You're funny."

She rolled her eyes. "One of us has to be there, Tony."

"As the CEO of Stark Industries, I forbid you to go into the office today, and the day after—just take a week long vocation with me, and we'll _work out_ the details." He hummed lovingly, planting a light kiss on her neck.

She squealed softly. "Tony, we're both co-CEO. You don't really have any power over what I do."

"Last night said differently." He responded sexily; his seductive words hummed against the back of her ear.

"That's inappropriate."

"And so was last night." He pulled her further against his chest.

Pepper laid there with him for a minute, or two, before she felt the urge to get up and go to the bathroom. "Okay," She said, sitting up, trying to escape from his grasp. "I need to get up and get ready."

"No…" Tony hummed, letting his arm fall on her lap as she sat up. His hand played with the fabric around her body. "…Pepper…" He pouted.

She turned her head to look down at him, and noticed his big wide chocolate brown eyes and his signature frown that seemed to work like a charm when he wanted something. She smiled fondly; she missed this side of him, especially during her week in Los Angeles. She took her hand in his and brought it up to her face. His hand cupped her face affectionately, and eventually, he pulled himself up.

Pepper's smile grew wider as he leaned in. His lips softly worked with hers, remembering her of their night of passion and how much she missed his affection. Sometimes he's an absolutely pain in her butt, but other times, he's a romantic.

She immediately laid her head against his chest once they pulled apart. He wrapped his arms around her and held her against his naked body.

"Why can't you just stay home today?" He asked curiously and calmly.

"Because," She paused to look up at him. "This is exactly what we'd be doing all day long."

He laughed at how true her words were. "And the downside to that?"

She smirked and kissed the spot underneath his chin. She released herself from his hold and walked towards the bathroom, allowing the bed sheet around her body to fall slowly from her body.

Her naked body stopped at the doorway of their master bathroom. Her head turned every so slightly to further observe his exposed form. "Care to join me, Mr. Stark?" She asked him seductively.

He practically scrambled off the bed, in a hurry to join her.

It was twelve long hours he had to survive without her presence, yet again. He tinkered with his suits for a few hours, worked on one of his sports cars for another couple hours, and practically died of boredom for the remaining time.

When he heard the elevator ding, along with the click on her heels, his ears perked up like a puppy hearing his master come home.

"Pepper?" He asked curiously.

"Yes?" She responded from the elevator.

"You're home late." He said, walking towards her.

"It's almost 8PM, Tony. It's when I always get off work." She rolled her eyes at him. "But then again, you wouldn't really know considering your notable absence in your office."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Touché, Potts." He pressed his lips together, hoping that she wasn't in a bad mood. "So, how was work?"

"The same." She responded rather quickly before walking towards their bedroom to grab a change of clothes.

"I don't see why you even bother to go to work—I mean, New York is pretty crazy when it comes to traffic." He trailed behind her. "Have you eaten dinner yet?"

His rambling wasn't that normal, nor was it abnormal, which usually meant he wanted something.

"Okay, Stark, what do you want?" She turned around abruptly to face him. Her tiny smile challenged him, which, he thought, was the hottest thing about their relationship.

"Nothing." He muttered. "Okay, that's a lie." He pressed his lips together. "Remember that proposal last night?"

"The one I said _'no'_ to?" She reminded him of her answer.

"Um… yeah—"

"Yeah, no. Not happening." She continued to walk towards their closet.

"Aw, c'mon." He whined. "I'll do anything; you name it—except go to work, because sometimes, I have limits, and then there's also New York traffic…"

"Honestly, Tony, why are you insisting on it?" She asked, turning around once more.

He shrugged and began to mumble, "Keeps our sex life alive."

She furrowed her eyebrows, trying not to laugh. "So, you're saying our sex life is dead?"

"No." He recovered quickly. "I'm just saying—"

"Tony." Pepper interjected. She leaned her face in close to his. He leaned back a bit, unsure if she was going to yell at him, or whack him with her shoes. She did throw her shoes at him once. Somehow, he considered himself lucky that she hasn't done it since.

"Am I prying too much?" He asked, narrowing her eyes. "Please don't throw your shoes at me again." He spoke quickly this time.

She smirked at his last sentence; oh yeah, she had fond memories of that incident. "Your proposal only asks for six or seven times." She paused to watch his eyebrows slowly furrow. She kissed him on the cheek and said seductively, "I'm pretty sure we could do it five times that number, and maybe we could aim to break the bed it. It's relatively new and a little stiff."

Tony's mouth instantly gapped. His eyes were very wide, and he was pretty sure he was bulging below his belt.

"You okay?" She asked calmly with a little sly smirk.

"I love you." He managed to squeak before he practically lunged himself at her.

It was only ten minutes later when the elevator opened again.

"Hey, guys?" Bruce asked, walking towards the living room where the couches were.

"I thought you said they were here." Steve said, searching the empty penthouse.

"Tony said he'd be here." Bruce shrugged. "Maybe he's in his personal workshop." He decided to stroll towards Tony's workshop in search of his presence. "He could be working on one of his suits, like he always is."

"That's weird." Steve noted, looking around the living room. "How come there's clothing—"

"Okay." Bruce fast walked from one of the corridors that led to the workshop.

"What, did you find him?" Steve asked, unbeknownst to what Bruce walked in on.

"Yep." Bruce tugged his arm, urging him back towards the elevator.

"Is he working on his suits of armor?"

"Oh, he's definitely working on something." Bruce smirked.

"Does he need help?" Steve asked, still confused as to why Bruce was hurrying him.

Bruce tried not to blush. "No, he does not."

Bruce and Steve entered the elevator again, and before the doors closed, they both heard loud moaning, which sounded a lot like a mixture of Tony and Pepper. Steve widened his eyes and mouthed, 'oh'. And Bruce simply looked up and sighed.

"Why do I always catch them when they're—"

"Fonduing…" Steve finished his sentence.


End file.
